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Overview

This overview of medical law and ethics is written in straightforward language for non-lawyer healthcare professionals who must be able to cope with multiple legal and ethical issues they encounter while working in a variety of settings--e.g., the medical office, hospitals, clinics, and skilled nursing facilities. It is designed to help them better understand their ethical obligation to themselves, their patients, and their employer. New to this edition are: Changes in Contract Law; Hiring Practices such as personnel policy manual, interview process, legal implications, sexual harassment, discrimination issues relating to selecting employees, incompetent and dishonest colleagues; Expanded coverage of Privacy Law and confidentiality - to cover more on confidentiality, HIPAA and other laws affecting the disclosure of personal information; Expanded coverage of Consent - to include more about informed and uninformed consent, problems when implementing consent, the right to refuse treatment. Also discussed are: Physician's Orders: what to do when the health care worker disagrees with the orders, what orders can be carried out with or without a written physician's orders; Malpractice Avoidance; and Truth-telling as in cases of patients who do not want to be told their diagnosis or families who do not wish to have the patient told. New to the End of Chapter activities include: Expanded “Web Hunt” exercises; Chapter Review fill-in-the-blank exercises to each chapter; and More Case Studies. For those in the allied health field in a variety of settings such as the medical office, hospitals, clinics, and skilled nursing facilities.

Related Subjects

Meet the Author

Dr. Fremgen earned her PhD at the University of Illinois and was a student in the law program for health care professionals at Loyola Law School, Loyola University, Chicago. Dr. Fremgen has taught ethics at the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana; the University of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan; and Saint Xavier University, Chicago, IL. She has taught ethics and medical assisting courses to allied health students at Robert Morris College in Chicago and Ivy Tech College in South Bend, IN. Dr. Fremgen has authored five books and has been the recipient of a number of awards including; Weekly Column “Women in Business,” The Daily Southtown newspaper; Who’s Who in International Women, 1988; Who’s Who in American Nursing, 1984, 1986-1987; Outstanding Management Achievement Award, Humana, 1982. She has also been a member of the Society for Business Ethics, the International Society of Business and Society, the Academy of Management, the Midwest Business Administration Association, the Forum for Healthcare Planning, the American Society of Public Administrators, and the Illinois Public Health Association.

Preface

The allied health professional has always been an important member of the medical team. This team awareness is even more critical in today's health care environment since the physician no longer practices medicine alone.

Medical Law and Ethics is written in straightforward language that is aimed at the non-lawyer health professional who must be able to cope with multiple legal and ethical issues. This text is appropriate for those persons studying in a college or university who are working toward careers in the allied health field in a variety of settings such as the medical office, hospitals, clinics, and skilled nursing facilities. A wide range of pertinent topics are discussed, such as the legal system, the physician-patient relationship, professional liability and medical malpractice, public duties of the physician, the medical record, and ethical and bioethical issues. The intent is to help the health care professional to better understand our ethical obligation to ourselves, our patients, and our employer.

Many legal cases are sprinkled throughout the text to demonstrate the history of the law as it pertains to subjects such as patient confidentiality, managed care, federal regulations affecting the employee, death and dying, and abortion. In some examples, the cases may seem old, but since our legal system is based on case law, they are still pertinent today.

A special feature called Med Tips provides quick information about the law and ethics. These brief scenarios and hints help to maintain interest in this vital subject. All chapters include glossary terms highlighted in bold on first reference, extensive end-of-the-chapter exercises, and one actual practicecase. The appendix includes a thorough compilation of codes of ethics that form a basis for current practice and a listing of health care regulatory agencies.

This text is meant to provide an overview of medical law and ethics. Practicing health care professionals should know the legal requirements in their own jurisdictions.

Chapter Structure

LEARNING OBJECTIVES. These are an overview of the basic knowledge discussed within the chapter and can be used as a chapter review.

GLOSSARY. Important vocabulary terms are listed alphabetically at the beginning of each chapter and printed in bold the first time they are defined in the text.

INTRODUCTION. Each chapter begins with an introductory statement that reflects the topic of the chapter.

END OF CHAPTER EXERCISES. A selection of matching and multiple-choice questions are included to test the student's knowledge of the chapter material.

SUMMARY. Using a bulleted format, the summary provides a recap of material presented in the chapter.

CASE STUDY. The case studies are based on real-life occurrences and offer practical application of information discussed within the chapter. These are included to stimulate and draw upon the student's critical-thinking skills and problem-solving ability.

REFERENCES. These useful resources provide further information on the topics included within the chapter.

Special Features

MED TIP. Brief scenarios are placed at strategic points within the narrative to provide helpful hints and useful information relating to the discussion within the text.

LEGAL CASE CITATIONS. Discipline-specific cases are used throughout the text to illustrate the topic under discussion. The cases reflect the many medical disciplines, including that of the physician, that come together in the care of the patient.

POINTS TO PONDER. Thought-provoking questions give students an opportunity to evaluate how they might answer some of the tough medically related ethical dilemmas in today's society. These questions can also be used for critical debate among students during a class activity.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS. These end-of-the-chapter questions encourage a review of the chapter contents.

PUT IT TO PRACTICE. These thought-provoking activities appear at the end of each chapter. They are meant to provide a clinical correlation with the topics discussed in the chapter and to stimulate the student's own contemplation of legal and ethical issues that are apparent in everyday life.

WEB HUNT. This end-of-the chapter Internet activity encourages the student to access the multitude of medical resources available through this medium.

APPENDIX. Codes of Ethics are included in Appendix A; a list of U.S. regulatory agencies appears in Appendix B; and a listing of useful medical Web sites is included in Appendix C.

ADDITIONAL EXAMINATION REVIEW QUESTIONS. These are included in the Instructor's Manual.

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